


An Auspicious First Meeting

by Star_Going_Supernova



Series: Heart & Soul AU [2]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Coffee Shops, College Students Henry and Joey, First Meetings, Gen, Heart & Soul AU, Henry is sassy and ain't taking any of Joey's crap, Joey has either just made the best or worst decision in his life by sitting there, can be read as a standalone, does this count as a coffee shop au?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-20 21:35:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12442299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Star_Going_Supernova/pseuds/Star_Going_Supernova
Summary: We all know the beginning of the end of Henry Ross and Joey Drew’s friendship.But what about the plain old beginning?





	An Auspicious First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously, this takes place before The Art of Being Alive. According to my timeline, this happened in 1930, with Henry and Joey being 18 and 21 years old respectively. 
> 
> So I just wrote a coffee shop, first meeting story for Bendy and the Ink Machine. What is my life. 
> 
> Also, I didn’t live back in the 1930s, but I’m trusting that none of you did either, and thus can’t call me out on any blatantly incorrect information. That being said, I can’t even begin to count how many times in the past hour I Googled something with “origin of [insert something here]” or “when did [this] get invented” because I will gosh dang stay as true to history as possible. (I don’t want to know if I screwed something up; just accept it, I beg you.)
> 
> Credit to https://squigglydigglydoo.tumblr.com for Henry’s last name.

Henry was in the middle of crosshatching Bendy’s left shoe when a worn leather satchel thumped down on the table at the seat across from him. Despite the presence he felt watching him, he didn’t look up until he’d finished the little demon’s footwear. 

Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his arms and eyed the stranger. It was a young man— couldn’t have been more than a couple’a years older than Henry himself— with wild black hair and rectangular glasses on his nose. If Henry had to guess, he’d say the man was taller than him by a good few inches, though that was hardly a surprise. Most importantly, however, Henry had never seen him before in his life. 

“Can I help you?” he asked. Unimpressed with the stranger or not, his momma had taught him his manners. 

The man grinned at him like Henry’d just offered him the secrets of the universe. He jabbed a finger at the paper on the table. “That yours?”

Henry glanced down at his half-finished comic strip. He looked back up at the man and raised an eyebrow. “No,” he said, drawing the word out. “I’m just takin’ the time to crosshatch this little guy for fun.” 

Impossibly, the stranger’s smile grew wider. Henry couldn’t help but think that with another half-inch to either side and an inch or so up, he’d be looking at a real-life Bendy-smile. 

“I’m Joey,” the man said as he yanked out the table’s empty chair and plopped into it. “Joey Drew. I recognized you from our 2D animation class. You’re always hunched over somethin,’ and I guess that’s it, ain’t it?” He nodded down at the page. 

“I guess it is,” Henry echoed. He waited for Joey to leave or say something else, but the man just stared back at him, that smile never faltering. “Oh, fine,” he sighed, “I’m Henry Ross.”

They offered their hands across the table at the same time and gave each other a quick shake. Joey still didn’t leave.

“Was there something else you wanted?” Henry asked after a few moments of silence. He came to this coffee shop in the first place to get _away_ from distractions, so he could finish the comic he was working on. This _Joey Drew_ wasn’t helping him get done any faster. Tapping his drawing pencil on the table, he hoped his unwanted guest would take a hint.

No such luck.

Instead of graciously excusing himself, Joey leaned his forearms on the table and said, “Aren’t ya gonna tell me about your friend?” 

Muttering an oath for patience, Henry gave in to the inevitable; he wasn’t going to be able to complete his comic today. He set his pencil down and pointed to the character beaming up at him.

“This is Bendy. Bendy the Dancing Demon. He—”

“Is he a bad guy?” Joey interrupted him. When he noticed Henry glaring at him, he added, “Y’know— a villain?”

“Oh, I understood what you meant. I was just giving you that look for interrupting me.” 

Joey threw his head back and laughed, the kind that grows and grows deep in the belly and explodes outward like fireworks. 

Once he’d calmed down, Henry said, “To answer your question: no, Bendy’s the hero.”

“But you said he’s a demon!”

“Yeah, and you’re annoying, but that doesn’t make you a villain.”

Joey looked like he had a laugh building in him again, something lighting up in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. He magnanimously waved his hand towards Henry. “Well, go on then. Tell me more about this demonic hero of yours.”

So Henry did. He talked about Bendy’s antics and the trouble his gags got him in; he talked about the way the little guy just wanted to have some fun, and maybe a friend to have that fun with; he talked about how everyone treated Bendy like Joey did, like he was a villain just for being what he was.

He talked about Bendy like he was a living, breathing creature. He talked about Bendy like he was Henry’s own family. 

And Joey was enraptured. 

By the time Henry looked at the watch his old man had given him, almost two whole hours had passed without him even noticing. Somehow, during that time, he’d felt comfortable enough in Joey’s attentive presence to continue working on his comic, finishing the last panel just after they’d gotten their third round of coffee. 

Joey twirled the piece of paper around so he could view it right side up. He laughed at the punchline and passed it back after scrutinizing it for a long moment. “I think you’ve got something there, Henry. I really do. Mark my words, you and Bendy are goin’ places.”

“Eh,” Henry shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe, maybe not. I’ve got the drawing parts down pat, but I’ll never be more than an animator in someone else’s studio. I don’t quite have the more… _sociable_ aspect that it would take to start up something new.”

“See, now, I’m the opposite. I could charm the last pair’o socks off a deaf man, and I ain’t too shabby with the artwork, but I lack that creativity our professors are always yammering about. The technical bits are easy, but breathing life into your characters? Now that’s something you got in spades, my friend.” Joey leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. He tilted his head and stared at Henry. “Quite a pair, we are.”

Henry straightened, not entirely comfortable with the look Joey was leveling at him. “And on that note. ’Fraid this is the part where I excuse myself.”

Joey blinked and shook his head before darting forward to clap Henry’s shoulder from across the table. “I like you! You sassed me back and didn’t try to suck up to me.”

Once again as unimpressed as he’d been when he first saw Joey, Henry asked, “Why on God’s green earth would I want to suck up to you?”

Smirking, Joey wiggled his eyebrows. “Older student, second best grades in the animation division, charming devil— though a different sort than the one you’re used to… why wouldn’t you?”

Henry grinned and gathered up his papers. He stood, pushed his chair in, and gave Joey a particular smile of his own. “Well, there’s your answer. Hate to tell you this, Mr. Drew, but I’m the one with the best grades in the animation division. Have a good day, now.”

Without waiting for a response, Henry turned and picked his way through the tables to the front door. Just as he reached for the handle, he heard Joey’s distinctive voice say from across the room— in a quiet tone, like he was talking to himself, “Henry Ross. Looks to me like I’ve finally met my match.” 

He’d never admit to anyone, much less Joey himself, but Henry didn’t stop smiling all the way back to his dorm. Maybe Joey Drew wasn’t so bad after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> So we have their first meeting, initiated by Joey Drew and participated in by a reluctant Henry Ross. Where would they meet next, do you think?
> 
> *wiggles eyebrows* Let me know, ’cause I gotta keep these fingers typing!


End file.
